Acute shortage of optometrists in India

Posted on 11th Mar 2015 12:12 pm by mohit kumar

Kolkata, March 10 (IANS) The nation needs about 1.15 lakh optometrists while it presently has only 9,000 of these professionals, leading to an acute shortage of eye-care specialists, an industry official said on Tuesday.

"There are too few professionals in optometry which is unable to meet the nation's needs", Bhaskar Bhat, the managing director of Titan, told mediapersons here.

He added that about 100 million people use spectacles and another 456 million of the populace are in need of eye correction.

"Many people don't realise they are in need of eye correction. It mostly happens with school-going children who don't tell their parents about their difficulty in vision. Only after their scores in school starts dwindling do parents realise it", he said.

The company said east India leads the pack of the 9,000-odd registered optometrists, as 60 percent of these professionals come from this region.

Bhat said although the central government has underlined the need for optometrists, the corporate sector has done little to address it.

Other news

Israel Hezbollah War: Israel is on the verge of destroying Hezbollah, now the army has entered Lebanon's border; Read the latest update in 10 points

Israel has intensified its air strikes on Lebanon to eliminate the Iran-backed terrorist organiza

Coco Lee: Hong Kong singer Coco Lee passed away, said goodbye to the world at the age of 48

Hong Kong's famous singer and songwriter Coco Lee has passed away. At the age of 48, he said good

'Parliament should pass a condemnation motion against Bangladesh violence,' Indian celebrities wrote a letter

Writers, academicians, and eminent personalities have written a letter expressing concern over th

Shouting with Sonu Nigam for selfie: Singer and his friends pushed while getting off the stage, case filed against MLA's son

Singer Sonu Nigam was manhandled during a live concert in the Chembur area of Mumbai. The inciden

Russia-Ukraine War: PM Modi spoke to the President of Ukraine for 35 minutes, thanked him for his efforts to evacuate Indians

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday. It has be

Har Ghar Tiranga: Vice President Dhankhar flagged off the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' rally, and many Union ministers participated

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday flagged off the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' bike rally from Prag

Noel Tata: Who is Noel Tata? Who can take over the reins of the Tata Group after Ratan Tata?

The country's leading industrialist Ratan Tata passed away on Wednesday night. After Ratan Tata's

Du Plessis, de Villiers fire Proteas to 281/5

Auckland, March 24 (IANS) Faf du Plessis (82) and captain AB de Villiers (65 not out) took Sout

Railways learned a lesson from the stampede at New Delhi station, and successfully tested crowd control measures.

Railways on Saturday successfully tested crowd control measures at New Delhi Railway Station. Und

Diljit Dosanjh: 'Om Namah Shivay', Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh participated in Bhasma Aarti; did puja sitting in Nandi Hall

Punjabi singer Diljit Singh Dosanjh this morning participated in the daily morning Bhasma Aarti o